


Ghost in the Machine

by neko_fish



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, Pre-Kerberos Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 05:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11983140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neko_fish/pseuds/neko_fish
Summary: Keith flies with a ghost





	Ghost in the Machine

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2704293/Man-turns-Xbox-discover-compete-against-fathers-GHOST-favorite-racing-game-played-just-6.html)

The silhouette veers right. He wouldn't have done that. He would've gone straight, would've used surprise and speed instead of silence and strategy. High risk and not a suitable maneuver for most pilots, he notes.

Pushing the lever to full throttle, he follows.

Right and then sharp ascend around the pillar of rock.

He knows this flight by heart. It’s become second nature to him, this path. And if he closes his eyes, he can still hear that laugh and gentle chiding.

_Keith, what are you doing?_

“I'm following you, Shiro,” he mutters back to the empty co-pilot seat.

\--

He remembers their first meeting.

**_Failure._ **

_The flight sim monitor spared no effort in telling him how he did._

**_Failure._ **

_Big, bold, and red._

_Gritting his teeth, he stepped out, prepared to face whatever public shaming ritual was in store. Iverson would've called him a donkey for crashing the shuttle on a routine practice run and asked the class to help point out all his mistakes, but Iverson was away and an assistant instructor was covering for him._

_Shirogane Takashi._

_Shiro._

_Both cadets and staff called him that. He was supposedly a ‘legend’ and an ‘elite pilot’, but this was the first time Keith met the guy and he doesn’t know what to expect. No one could have a reputation like that and not have it go to their heads._

_He stepped out of the cockpit and folded his arms, ready to ignore the incoming barrage of derogatory comments._

_But nothing came._

_Glancing up, Keith saw the young instructor smile at him, friendly and impartial. “Thanks for going first. We're going to watch the replay, is that okay?”_

_A little taken aback at the question, he straightened his back and shrugged. “Do what you want.”_

_Great._

_A different take on the same event._

_Shiro nodded. “I know this is when Commander Iverson normally gives you pointers, but we're going to be changing things up a bit.”_

_He arched a brow._

_“I want you to watch the replay and explain your actions and what you wanted to do. This way, I can give you feedback on how to achieve what your goal next time. This is a solo flight so everyone will have different ideas and strategies. Watch your fellow classmates fly and you’ll see that no two pilots fly the same,” Shiro explained._

_They watched the replay with Shiro pausing at each action, and with hackles raised and ready, Keith talked him through his choices._

_Instead of berating him, Shiro nodded and listened, a knuckle to his chin in thought. “That was a good call. You took a risk, but it paid off. If you'd gone to the left, you'd be forced to engage that drone. That was some fast thinking.”_

_No one had ever praised him like that before._

_Keith blinked. Shoulders relaxing a little, he continued explaining until he got to the end where he crashed into the cliff wall. Despite himself, he crosses his arms a little tighter and frowned. “I was going to jump down to that ridge and get the fighters from behind since they were the biggest threat. I should've just gone with a sharper turn after I landed instead of doing it midair.”_

_Shiro was silent, eyes focused on the footage. After a beat, he turned his attention back to Keith. “Your strategy is sound and you almost pulled it off. You just had a little too much thrust to complete the turn. Have you considered turning up here instead? Line yourself up with the ridge, full left thruster, and the wall won't be a problem anymore.”_

_“Even if I push too hard, I'd be able to ride the wall,” Keith muttered, arms dropping to his side as he pictured the move. “I wouldn't have to slow down at all.”_

_Nodding, Shiro smiled. “Exactly. If you ever need any help with it, just let me know. Good run. Alright, who's next?”_

\--

Leaning left, he follows the silhouette off the cliff and onto the ridge with practiced ease. His timing is tighter than the silhouette’s, but he prefers it this way.

_You’ve gotten a lot better at that._

Even in his head, Shiro is endlessly encouraging.

“I’ve done a lot of practicing. You made sure of that.”

\--

_He just about jumped out of his seat when the door opened. The screen froze at the intrusion with him about to do a nose dive. Whirling around, he squinted hard to see who his unwelcomed visitor was._

_“And here I was hoping to have the flight sim to myself,” a familiar voice said._

_Keith couldn't quite place the owner, but the sight on the tall shadowy silhouette helped jog his memory. “You again.”_

_“Yeah, me again.” There was a smile in his voice. “Sorry, looks like I messed up your flight.”_

_He turned back to the screen to see the aircraft far too close to the ground to save. Scowling, he asked, “What do you want?”_

_It probably wasn't the best tone to have when talking to an instructor after curfew but Shiro merely shrugged. “I wanted a turn on the sim. Your name was Keith, right? Do you need a co-pilot for your next run?”_

_Narrowing his eyes, he tried to study the older boy though to no avail with the darkness around them. “Are you serious?”_

_“Yeah, why wouldn't I be?” Shiro asked back._

_“You’re not gonna tell me to go back to the dorms?”_

_Shiro gave a crooked smile. “That'd be pretty hypocritical of me, wouldn't it? I might not have a curfew but I'm still sneaking in here to fly.” Then he raised his hands in surrender. “Look, I didn’t mean to disturb you. You were here first, I’ll come back another day. It’s only fair.”_

_No one had ever stepped down to him so easily before._

_His mind reeled. This couldn’t be true. There had to be a catch. Nothing in life came so easily—not for him. Shaking his head, he got up. “Whatever, I’m done. You can have it.”_

_“Hey, wait, you don’t have to go,” Shiro tried._

_Ignoring him, Keith made his way to the door only to hear “Simulation restarting. Beginning in 10…”_

_The door closed and Shiro glanced over at him, gesturing at the pilot seat. “Looks like it didn’t want you to leave. You go ahead. You were here first.”_

_Keith crossed his arms, digging his heels into the ground. “I’m not flying.”_

_After a moment, Shiro shrugged and plopped himself down in the pilot seat. “Okay. I’ll do one round and then it’s all yours. You might want to take a seat for this.”_

_He considered just leaving and ruining the other’s flight to return the favour, but curiosity got the better of him. It wasn’t every day that he got to watch a supposed elite pilot fly. Sitting down with his arms still crossed, he watched the display flare to life._

_Shiro flew like his spoke: easy, confident, and unpredictable._

_Keith was enraptured. He held his breath during the free falls and jolted back at the attacks. It wasn’t anything like how he would’ve flown but in a way, that made it that much better. The next thing he knew, the sim was over and a new high score had been set._

_“Shoot,” the older boy muttered. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”_

_To his bewilderment, Shiro sounded genuinely apologetic._

_“Why are you sorry?”_

_“Because now they’ll know I was in here in the middle of the night,” Shiro explained sheepishly. “Oh well, I’ll have to deal with it tomorrow. Don’t worry, I promise I'll keep you out of it.” He got out of the pilot seat and smiled. “I said I’d only go one round, so here, I’ll let you fly in peace. If you ever have any questions, you know where to find me. Goodnight, Keith.”_

\--

He remembers being on his toes all of the following day, expecting to be called out. But it never came and the only indication that he didn’t dream everything up was when Shiro caught his gaze in the cafeteria and offered a sheepish smile.

The plane dips down and pivots gracefully. From above, he slows down to admire the maneuver.

_Keith, what are you doing back there?_

“I'm watching you fly,” he mutters. “I've always liked watching you fly.”

\--

_Keith went back every night after that to practice some of the moves he had seen Shiro use. And if he just so happened to run into the other pilot, well, there were worse things that could happen._

_It wasn't until a week after that he found Shiro in the pilot seat, going through the settings of the sim. The older boy looked up and smiled. “Hey Keith, looks like I finally beat you to the sim. Mind if I go a few rounds?”_

_The thought never occurred to him that Shiro may have gone to the simulator and found it in use and left it alone to respect his privacy. Keith shrugged. “Do what you want. It's not like I own the thing.”_

_He was about to leave when Shiro asked, “Want to be my co-pilot?”_

_If he felt at tinge of excitement at the question, he refused to acknowledge it. “Whatever,” he muttered, sliding into the co-pilot seat._

_Shiro’s eyes sparkled when he flew. There was an exhilaration and joy in them that Keith always assumed no one felt but him. This person loved flying just as much as he did—if not more._

_And it took his breath away._

_They went for four rounds, each flight unique and equally exciting with Shiro putting both of their skills to the test. Keith could feel his pulse racing and had to make a conscious effort to not smile._

_With no such reservation, Shiro laughed and smiled at him throughout his flights, undeterred by his refusal to react. When the flight finished, he stood up and stretched. “Well, that was fun. Thanks for flying with me, Keith. I'll get out of your hair now.”_

_He didn't know what spurred him, but he blurted, “Wait, how do you land your nose dives so close to the ground?”_

_Shiro turned around in surprise and Keith immediately wanted nothing more than to retract his words and disappear. But then the other boy smiled. “Why don't you pilot? I'll try to walk you through it. A huge part of it will rely on your instincts and given how much you practice every night, I'm sure you'll get it in no time.”_

_No one had ever acknowledged his efforts before._

_Face heating up from the praise, he looked away. “Whatever.”_

\--

It took him a long time to warm up to Shiro’s presence, but the other pilot never pushed for more than he was comfortable giving. So things went slowly with him dragging his feet the whole way.

They started with flying sims together to sitting at the same table for lunch to sparring in the training room. The two of them studied for tests together in the library and stood together in the office after Shiro ran to his defence when some student tried to pick a fight with him and succeeded.

No one had ever stood up for him before.

“Keith, promise me you won’t get into another fight like that,” Shiro had asked him.

“Why do you care?” he’d snapped back.

“Because you’re important to me. Because I know you’re better than this. Because your eyes light up when you fly and I don’t want to see that taken away from you,” was the soft reply.

No one had ever cared enough to stand their ground before.

“…fine.”

A smile. “Thanks, Keith.”

No one had ever trusted him to keep his word before.

There had never been anyone in his life like Shiro before, and without any of his defences left, all Keith could do was watch himself fall and fall and fall.

(But Shiro would be there to catch him. He always was.)

A switch flipped then and the next thing he knew, they were breaking curfew to fly the desert in Shiro’s reserved hover bike. Far away from the garrison, surrounded by nothingness, he remembers lying on the sand next to Shiro looking up at the desert sky, their knuckles brushing.

There was a twinkle in Shiro’s eyes whenever he talked about space and Keith would’ve given anything to stop time just to watch him speak a little longer.

But inevitably, Shiro would turn to him and smile lopsidedly. “The stars are up there, Keith.”

“I know.”

But the stars in your eyes are brighter, he never said.

The silhouette closes in on the base, ready to open fire and finish the simulation. It waits until it gets in close to fire at the generator, disabling the entire base with minimal damage elsewhere.

It's not a factor that would've crossed his mind once upon a time.

_Keith, you can’t just follow me. I may have helped hone your skills but your path is your own to make. Break these records. You’re better than this._

“I will, but not until you get back.”

With the number of times he's flown this simulator, no amount of random variations can catch him off guard, but he isn’t about to give up the only connection he still has with the other pilot.

It's been a week since all contact was lost with the Kerberos crew.

The silhouette lands and screen goes black as the practice run ends.

“I know you're out there, Shiro,” he tells the darkness.

The darkness doesn't reply.

It never does.

Reaching down, Keith restarts the flight sim again.

**Author's Note:**

> I've fallen into Voltron hell and I can't get out


End file.
